Lever operation device

ABSTRACT

A lever operation device includes a housing, a lever portion which is attached to the housing and on which a first rotation operation about a first shaft is performed, a magnet attached to a tip portion of the lever portion, a magnetic sensor that is arranged in the housing so as to be located on extension from the tip portion, and a detent portion provided on the lever portion and includes a detent tip end portion and an elastic portion, the detent tip end portion generating a detent by moving with a tilt in a direction of the first rotation operation from a direction of extension from the tip portion of the lever portion and coming into contact with a detent surface of a detent wall arranged on the housing, and the elastic portion applying an elastic force to the detent tip end portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims the priority of Japanese patentapplication No. 2021/063505 filed on Apr. 2, 2021, and the entirecontents of Japanese patent application No. 2021/063505 are herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a lever operation device.

BACKGROUND ART

A lever switch is known which includes a lever pivotally operable inpredetermined directions, rotating bodies that rotate according to anoperation performed on the lever, magnets attached to the centers of therotating bodies, and magnetic detection elements to detect magneticfields of the magnets (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1).

The lever is arranged between an upper case and a lower case so as to bepivotally operable back and forth and up and down from an intermediateposition. A cover is further attached to the upper case so as to cover alower surface. A circuit board is arranged on the cover. The magneticdetection elements are provided on the circuit board so as to face themagnets attached to the rotating bodies. The lever switch also has adetent means that has a pin moving in a direction of extension from atip portion of the lever and a spring applying an elastic force to thispin.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: JP 2008/218067 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In the lever switch, the pin moves in the direction of extension fromthe tip of the lever. Therefore, there is a problem that the magnets andthe magnetic detection elements cannot be arranged in this direction ofextension and thus must be arranged on the cover side at which arrangingthese components causes an increase in the thickness of the device, andit is difficult to reduce the thickness.

It is an object of the invention to provide a lever operation devicewhich can be reduced in thickness.

According to an aspect of the invention, a lever operation devicecomprises:

-   -   a housing;    -   a lever portion which is attached to the housing and on which a        first rotation operation about a first shaft is performed;    -   a magnet attached to a tip portion of the lever portion on a tip        side relative to the first shaft;    -   a magnetic sensor that is arranged in the housing so as to be        located on extension from the tip portion and detects movement        of the magnet due to the first rotation operation performed on        the lever portion; and    -   a detent portion provided on the lever portion and comprises a        detent tip end portion and an elastic portion, the detent tip        end portion generating a detent by moving with a tilt in a        direction of the first rotation operation from a direction of        extension from the tip portion of the lever portion and coming        into contact with a detent surface of a detent wall arranged on        the housing, and the elastic portion applying an elastic force        to the detent tip end portion.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to an aspect of the invention, a lever operation device can beprovided which can be reduced in thickness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a periphery of a steering wheel of avehicle in which an example of a lever operation device in an embodimentis mounted.

FIG. 1B is an exemplar block diagram illustrating the lever operationdevice.

FIG. 2A is an exemplary front view of the lever operation device in theembodiment.

FIG. 2B is an exemplary top view thereof.

FIG. 2C is an exemplary back view thereof.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of when a front-left coveris removed from the lever operation device in the embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of when a second bracket isfurther removed.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of when a back-left coveris removed from the lever operation device in the embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a crosssection cut along line IV(b)-IV(b) of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 5A is an exemplary diagram illustrating the lever operation devicein the embodiment before a lever main body is inserted into a bracketportion.

FIG. 5B is an exemplary diagram after the lever main body is insertedinto the bracket portion.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of rotation of a magnetabout a first shaft in the lever operation device in the embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of rotation of the magnetabout a second shaft.

FIG. 7A shows an example of a tip portion of a lever portion of thelever operation device in a modification.

FIG. 7B shows an example of a detent portion of the lever operationdevice in a modification.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of thicknessreduction of the lever operation device in the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Summary of the Embodiments

A lever operation device in the embodiment is generally provided with ahousing, a lever portion which is attached to the housing and on which afirst rotation operation about a first shaft is performed, a magnetattached to a tip portion of the lever portion on the tip side relativeto the first shaft, a magnetic sensor that is arranged in the housing soas to be located on extension from the tip portion and detects movementof the magnet due to the first rotation operation performed on the leverportion, and a detent portion provided on the lever portion andcomprises a detent tip end portion and an elastic portion, the detenttip end portion generating a detent by moving with a tilt in a directionof the first rotation operation from a direction of extension from thetip portion of the lever portion and coming into contact with a detentsurface of a detent wall arranged on the housing, and the elasticportion applying an elastic force to the detent tip end portion.

In this lever operation device, the detent portion is not positioned inthe direction of extension from the tip portion of the lever portion.Therefore, as compared to when the detent portion is arranged at such aposition, it is not necessary to arrange the magnet on a surface of thetip portion at which arranging the magnet causes an increase in thethickness, and it is thereby possible to reduce the thickness.

Embodiment

(General Configuration of a Lever Operation Device 1)

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a lever operation devicearranged in a vehicle, and FIG. 1B is an exemplary block diagramillustrating the lever operation device. In each drawing of theembodiment described below, a scale ratio may be different from anactual ratio. In addition, in FIG. 1B, flows of main signals andinformation are indicated by arrows. In the following generalconfiguration of the lever operation device 1, the reference signscontained in the drawings (described later) are added in parentheses.

The lever operation device 1 is generally provided with a housing (10),a lever portion (3) which is attached to the housing (10) and on which afirst rotation operation about a first shaft (410) is performed, amagnet (6) attached to a tip portion of the lever portion (3) on the tipside relative to the first shaft (410), a magnetic sensor (7) that isarranged in the housing (10) so as to be located on extension from thetip portion and detects movement of the magnet (6) due to the firstrotation operation performed on the lever portion (3), and a detentportion (5) provided on the lever portion (3) and has a detent tip endportion (50) and an elastic portion (51), the detent tip end portion(50) generating a detent by moving with a tilt in a direction of thefirst rotation operation from a direction of extension from the tipportion of the lever portion (3) and coming into contact with a detentsurface (150) of a detent wall (15) arranged on the housing (10), andthe elastic portion (51) applying an elastic force to the detent tip endportion (50).

The lever portion (3) includes a lever main body (30) and a bracketportion (4) as the tip portion that has a first bracket (41), in whichthe lever main body (30) is attached and on which the first shaft (410)is provided, and a second bracket (42) which has a second shaft (420) asan axis of a second rotation operation performed in a directionintersecting the first rotation operation and in which the first bracket(41) is attached. The first bracket (41) has the magnet (6) and thedetent portion (5). The magnetic sensor (7) detects movement of themagnet (6) due to the first rotation operation and the second rotationoperation performed on the lever portion (3).

The first bracket (41) has an insertion opening (411) for insertion ofthe lever main body (30) and a through-hole (412 a) in communicationwith the insertion opening (411). The detent portion (5) is insertedinto the through-hole (412 a) so that a detent base end portion (52) onthe opposite side to the detent tip end portion (50) is in contact withthe lever main body (30) inserted into the insertion opening (411) ofthe first bracket (41). The elastic portion (51) applies the elasticforce, which is generated by being sandwiched and compressed by thedetent surface (150) and the lever main body (30), to the detent surface(150) and the lever main body (30).

The lever operation device 1 includes a determination unit thatdetermines an operation performed on the lever portion (3) based onmovement of the magnet (6) detected by the magnetic sensor (7). Thefirst bracket (41) and the second bracket (42) are arranged in a firstroom (11) of the housing (10). The magnetic sensor (7) is arranged in asecond room (12) of the housing (10) that is separated from the firstroom (11) by the wall (110). The determination unit is arranged in athird sparce (13) of the housing (10) that is different from the secondroom (12) and is separated from the first room (11) by a wall (111). Thedetermination unit is a control unit 8 which is described later.

The lever operation device 1 includes lever operation units (2 a and 2b) that are mounted on a vehicle (9), each comprise the lever portion(3), the magnet (6), the magnetic sensor (7) and the detent portion (5),and are provided on the left and right sides of a steering shaft (93) ofthe vehicle (9).

The lever operation device 1 in the present embodiment includes a leveroperation unit 2 a and a lever operation unit 2 b with a steering shaft93 in-between, but it is not limited thereto. The number of leveroperation units may be one or may be not less than three.

The lever operation device 1 in the present embodiment is configuredsuch that the lever operation unit 2 a on the left side is a turnoperation unit to operate directional indicators and headlamps, and thelever operation unit 2 b on the right side is a shift operation unit tooperate a shifting device, as an example. The shifting device is adevice to switch the connection state of gears in a transmission of thevehicle 9 according to the operating position of the shift operationunit, such as park position, drive position, neutral position, as anexample.

In the following description, left and right are left and right asviewed from a driver sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle 9, upand down are up and down as viewed from the driver, and front and rearare front and rear of the vehicle 9, unless otherwise specified.

In addition, the lever operation unit 2 a and the lever operation unit 2b of the lever operation device 1 are assigned with at least one offunctions of operating the directional indicators, the headlamps, theshifting device, a wiper device, etc. Next, a specific configuration ofthe lever operation device 1 is described below.

(Configuration of a Housing 10)

FIG. 2A is an exemplary front view of the lever operation device, FIG.2B is an exemplary top view thereof, and FIG. 2C is an exemplary backview thereof. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of the leveroperation device when a front-left cover is removed, and FIG. 3B is adiagram illustrating an example of the lever operation device when asecond bracket is further removed. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating anexample of the lever operation device when a back-left cover is removed,and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a crosssection cut along line IV(b)-IV(b) of FIG. 3A.

As an example, the housing 10 is formed of a resin material and has acircular cylindrical shape, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C. The housing 10has an insertion hole 107 at the center. The insertion hole 107 issurrounded by a circular wall portion 14 and allows for insertion of thesteering shaft 93.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the steering shaft 93 is inserted through theinsertion hole 107 of the housing 10 of the lever operation device 1,and a base 91 of a steering wheel 90 is attached to the steering shaft93 protruding from the insertion hole 107. The lever operation device 1in the present embodiment is configured to not rotate with the steeringwheel 90.

The housing 10 has a shape with the top cut off in the front view, asshown in FIG. 2A. Since the housing 10 has a shape with the top cut off,a visible area 94 between an upper portion of the base 91 and a ringportion 92 of the steering wheel 90 is wide as shown in FIG. 1A, hence,a meter panel 95 on which a speedometer, etc., is located or displayedis large and can provide better visibility. This visible area 94 is anarea enclosed by a dotted line in FIG. 1A, and is an area surrounded bythe upper portion of the base 91 and the ring portion 92 of the steeringwheel 90.

A front-left cover 102 a, a front-right cover 103 a and a lower cover104, which are formed of a resin material, are attached to the housing10 on a front surface 100 side, i.e., on the driver's side, as shown inFIG. 2A. The front-left cover 102 a and the front-right cover 103 a havea shape formed by cutting off a top portion of an upper half of a circlehaving the insertion hole 107, then cutting off a portion of the centerof the top portion, and further dividing into two parts. The lower cover104 has a shape of a lower half of the circle.

When the housing 10 side is defined as a lower side, the front-leftcover 102 a covers an upper side of a left first room 11 in which thelever operation unit 2 a is arranged. This first room 11 is a roomsurrounded by the housing 10 and the front-left cover 102 a as indicatedby a dotted line in FIG. 2A and is in communication with the outside ofthe housing 10 through an opening 105 a provided to allow a lever mainbody 30 to protrude to the outside of the housing 10.

When the housing 10 side is defined as a lower side, the front-rightcover 103 a covers an upper side of a right first room 11 in which thelever operation unit 2 b is arranged. This first room 11 is a roomsurrounded by the housing 10 and the front-right cover 103 a asindicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2A and is in communication with theoutside of the housing 10 through an opening 106 a provided to allow alever main body 30 to protrude to the outside of the housing 10.

When the housing 10 side is defined as a lower side, the lower cover 104covers an upper side of a third room 13. The third room 13 is a roomsurrounded by the housing 10 and the lower cover 104 as indicated by adotted line in FIG. 2A. A connector opening 131 and a connector opening132 which penetrate a back surface 101 are provided on the housing 10 ata portion corresponding to the third room 13, as shown in FIG. 2C.

A connector portion 108 a is arranged in the connector opening 131. Aconnector portion 108 b is arranged in the connector opening 132. Theconnector portion 108 a and the connector portion 108 b are provided ona substrate 16 arranged on a bottom wall 130 of the third room 13 andare connected to connectors of a harness of the vehicle 9.

On the back surface 101 side, the housing 10 has second rooms 12 on theleft and right sides of the insertion hole 107, as indicated by dottedlines in FIG. 2C. When the housing 10 side is defined as a lower side, aback-left cover 102 b formed using a resin material is attached to coveran upper side of the left second room 12. When the housing 10 side isdefined as a lower side, a back-right cover 103 b formed using a resinmaterial is attached to cover an upper side of the right second room 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2C and 4A, the left first room 11 in which the leveroperation unit 2 a is arranged has a drain hole 105 b to drain a liquidor foreign matter entered through the opening 105 a to the outside ofthe housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the drain hole 105 b is in communication with adrain groove 105 c formed on the back surface 101 side of the housing10. The drain groove 105 c is formed by the circular wall portion 14forming the insertion hole 107 and a groove wall portion 105 d providedalong the drain groove 105 c, and suppresses ingress of a liquid orforeign matter into the left second room 12.

Likewise, as shown in FIG. 2C, the right first room 11 in which thelever operation unit 2 b is arranged has a drain hole 106 b to drain aliquid or foreign matter entered through the opening 106 a to theoutside of the housing 10.

The drain hole 106 b is in communication with a drain groove 106 cformed on the back surface 101 side of the housing 10. The drain hole106 b is formed by the circular wall portion 14 and a groove wallportion 106 d with a flipped shape of the left groove wall portion 150 dand suppresses ingress of a liquid or foreign matter into the rightsecond room 12, in the same manner as the drain hole 105 b. In FIG. 4A,the groove wall portion 106 d with the flipped shape of the groove wallportion 150 d is not shown as it is disposed flipped on the left side.

The left second room 12 is a room surrounded by the housing 10 and theback-left cover 102 b and is separated from the drain groove 105 c bythe groove wall portion 150 d.

Likewise, the right second room 12 is a room surrounded by the housing10 and the back-right cover 103 b and is separated from the drain groove106 c by the groove wall portion 106 d.

In case of the left lever operation unit 2 a, a liquid or foreign matterenters the first room 11 through the opening 105 a, gets into the drainhole 105 b after trickling down by gravity along the wall 111 separatingthe first room 11 from the third room 13, and is drained through a drainroute 109 a along the drain groove 105 c on the back surface 101 of thehousing 10, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3B.

In case of the right lever operation unit 2 b, a liquid or foreignmatter enters the first room 11 through the opening 106 a, gets into thedrain hole 106 b after trickling down by gravity along the wall 111separating the first room 11 from the third room 13, and is drainedthrough a drain route 109 b along the drain groove 106 c on the backsurface 101 of the housing 10, as shown in FIG. 2C.

The walls 111 forming the drain route 109 a and the drain route 109 bare inclined toward the drain hole 105 b and the drain hole 106 b toguide the liquid or foreign matter to the drain hole 105 b and the drainhole 106 b.

The drain route 109 a and the drain route 109 b are not paths throughelectronic circuits such as the magnetic sensors 7 and the control unit8. Therefore, malfunction thereof due to ingress of the liquid orforeign matter can be suppressed in the lever operation device 1.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the third room 13 is separated from the first room11 by the wall (111). However, the third room 13 is in communicationwith the second room 12 via a connector opening 122 provided in thesecond room 12, as shown in FIG. 4A.

A connector portion 108 c is arranged in the connector opening 122. Theconnector portion 108 c is connected to the magnetic sensor 7 via acable 17. The connector portion 108 c is provided on the substrate 16 onwhich the control unit 8 is arranged.

Thus, in the lever operation device 1, the magnetic sensor 7 arranged inthe second room 12 and the control unit 8 arranged in the third room 13are electrically connected via the cable 17. In this regard, thesubstrate 16 is, e.g., a printed circuit board. The cable 17 is, e.g., aflat cable.

Since the first room 11 and the second room 12 on the left side have thehorizontally flipped shapes of the first room 11 and the second room 12on the right side, the first room 11 and the second room 12 on the leftside will be mainly described below.

(Configuration of the Lever Portion 3)

FIG. 5A is an exemplar diagram before the lever main body is insertedinto the bracket portion, and FIG. 5B is an exemplary diagram after thelever main body is inserted into the bracket portion.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the lever portion 3 has the lever main body30 and the bracket portion 4 attached to the lever main body 30. Aspecific configuration of the bracket portion 4 will be described later.

The lever main body 30 is formed of a resin material and has a grippingportion 300 which protrudes from the housing 10 and is gripped by auser, and an insertion portion 301 inserted into the bracket portion 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the gripping portion 300 is operable inupward and downward directions (an arrow A direction and an arrow Bdirection) and in forward and rearward directions (an arrow C directionand an arrow D direction). An operation in the upward and downwarddirections is a second rotation operation about a second shaft 420.

Meanwhile, an operation in the forward and rearward directions is afirst rotation operation about a first shaft 410.

Operation directions of the first rotation operation and the secondrotation operation are orthogonal. That is, the first shaft 410 servingas a rotational axis of the first rotation operation is orthogonal tothe second shaft 420 serving as a rotational axis of the second rotationoperation, but it is not limited thereto.

The lever operation unit 2 a in the present embodiment can operate thefunctions of directional indicators, etc. Thus, an operation in theupward direction is an operation to turn on the directional indicatorson the right side of the vehicle 9, an operation in the downwarddirection is an operation to turn on the directional indicators on theleft side, an operation in the forward direction is an operation tochange the headlamps to high beam, and an operation in the rearwarddirection is an operation to turn the headlamps on high beam during whenthe operation is performed.

That is, the directional indicators on the right side are turned on whenthe lever main body 30 of the lever operation unit 2 a is operated inthe upward direction by the user, the directional indicators on the leftside are turned on when operated in the downward direction, headlightsare switched from low beam to high beam when operated in the directionof pushing away, and headlights are switched from low beam to high beamonly during the operation when operated toward the user.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the insertion portion 301 has asubstantially quadrangular prism shape. The insertion portion 301 has anend portion 302 at which an upper surface 301 a has a smaller width thanthe gripping portion 300 side.

The end portion 302 has a contact surface 303 that is provided on a sidesurface 301 b side, which is on the upper side of the paper of FIGS. 5Aand 5B, and is inclined from the side surface 301 b. Since the insertionportion 301 has the contact surface 303, a width from the side surface301 b to a side surface 301 c on the gripping portion 300 side is largerthan a width from the side surface 301 b to the side surface 301 c onthe end portion 302 side.

The insertion portion 301 has claw portions 304 on the side surface 301b and the side surface 301 c. When the lever main body 30 is insertedinto a first bracket 41, the claw portions 304 come into contact with astopper 411 a provided in an insertion opening 411 of the first bracket41.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the insertion portion 301 has a protrudingportion 313 that protrudes from the upper surface 301 a. The protrudingportion 313 is fitted to a fitting portion 413 of the first bracket 41and thereby integrates the first bracket 41 with the insertion portion301.

(Configuration of the Bracket Portion 4)

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of rotation of the magnetabout the first shaft, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an exampleof rotation of the magnet about the second shaft.

The first bracket 41 is formed of a resin material and rotates togetherwith the magnet 6 relative to the housing 10 by the first rotationoperation about the first shaft 410, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 6A. Thesecond bracket 42 is formed of a resin material and rotates togetherwith the first bracket 41 and the magnet 6 relative to the housing 10 bythe second rotation operation about the second shaft 420, as shown inFIGS. 5B and 6B.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the first bracket 41 has the insertionopening 411 into which the lever main body 30 is inserted, a detentinsertion portion 412 having a through-hole 412 a in communication withthe insertion opening 411, the fitting portion 413 to be coupled to theprotruding portion 313 of the lever main body 30, and holding portions414 to hold the magnet 6.

The first shaft 410 is provided on a side surface 410 b and a sidesurface 410 c. The first shaft 410 is inserted into recessed portions421 a formed in a housing opening 421 of the second bracket 42.

The insertion opening 411 is an opening into which the lever main body30 is inserted, and it is wide at the entrance and narrow at the bottom.

The detent insertion portion 412 is provided on the side surface 410 bon the upper side of the first bracket 41. The detent insertion portion412 is out of alignment with an insertion direction of the lever mainbody 30 (an arrow E direction). In particular, the through-hole 412 a isformed not in a direction of extension from the lever main body 30inserted into the first bracket 41, i.e., not in a direction ofextension from the insertion opening 411 of the bracket portion 4. Themagnet 6 and the magnetic sensor 7 are arranged in this direction ofextension, as shown in FIG. 3B.

The through-hole 412 a is provided in a direction intersecting theinsertion direction (the arrow E direction) in which the lever main body30 is inserted. In particular, the through-hole 412 a has a center lineL₂ contained in an extended plane 42 b extended from a plane 42 a that acenter line L₁ shown in FIG. 6B draws when rotated about the secondshaft 420.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the insertion opening 411 has a stopper 411b that prevents the inserted detent portion 5 from moving too far towardthe insertion opening 411. The stopper 411 b is provided to prevent thecontact surface 303 from making contact.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the center line L₁ is the center line of theinsertion portion 301 of the lever portion 3. That is, the center lineL₁ coincides with the insertion direction of the lever main body 30. InFIG. 6A, the extended plane 42 b is viewed from a side and thus overlapsthe center line L₁. Therefore, in FIG. 6A, the center line L₂ of thethrough-hole 412 a shown in FIG. 6B overlaps the center line L₁.

In addition, the center line L₂ of the through-hole 412 a shown in FIG.6B is a straight line passing the second shaft 420. Thus, thethrough-hole 412 a is provided so that the center line L₁ when rotatedabout the second shaft 420 coincides with the center line L₂. However,the center line L₂ of the through-hole 412 a is not limited to thestraight line passing the second shaft 420 and may be a straight lineintersecting the extended plane 42 b.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the fitting portion 413 is provided on an uppersurface 410 a. The fitting portion 413 has grooves 413 b on a front endface 413 a and both side surfaces, and furthermore, it is bent towardthe insertion opening 411. The groove 413 b on the front end face 413 aside has a shape to be fitted to the protruding portion 313 of the levermain body 30. The first bracket 41 and the lever main body 30 areintegrated by fitting the protruding portion 313 to the groove 413 b.

The holding portions 414 are provided as claws to hold the magnet 6inserted into a recessed portion 415 which is open on the upper surface410 a side. As shown in FIG. 5B, the recessed portion 415 is locatedfurther ahead of a tip end of the insertion opening 411 into which thelever main body 30 is inserted.

A tip end face 410 d of the first bracket 41 is a curved surfacecorresponding to rotation of the lever main body 30 about the secondshaft 420 and faces a side portion 121 b of a protruding portion 121 inwhich the magnetic sensor 7 is arranged.

The second bracket 42 has a cancelling mechanism 43 on an upper surface420 a. The cancelling mechanism 43 is a mechanism to return the levermain body 30 held up or down back to the pre-operation state, i.e., toreturn to the pre-operation state by an operation performed on thesteering wheel 90. In this regard, the cancelling mechanism 43 is notarranged in the right lever operation unit 2 b since it is a mechanismrequired when assigned to operate, e.g., directional indicators and isnot essential.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the second bracket 42 has the housingopening 421 into which the lever main body 30 is inserted and in whichthe first bracket 41 is housed. The housing opening 421 rotatably holdsthe first bracket 41.

The second bracket 42 is configured to be, e.g., divisible. To attachthe second bracket 42 to the first bracket 41, the first bracket 41 isarranged on one of the divided pieces of the second bracket 42 and theother piece is then assembled.

To install the lever operation unit 2 a, the detent portion 5 is set inthe through-hole 412 a after the second bracket 42 is attached to thefirst bracket 41, these are then arranged in the first room 11, and thefront-left cover 102 a is further attached to the housing 10, and inthis state, the lever main body 30 is inserted. At this time, the detentportion 5 is maintained in the set position since the stopper 411 b isprovided in the through-hole 412 a.

The second shaft 420 is provided on the upper surface 420 a. The secondshaft 420 is inserted into recessed portions formed on a bottom wall 110of the housing 10 in the first room 11 and on the front-left cover 102a.

Modification of the Bracket Portion 4

FIG. 7A shows an example of a modification of the tip portion of thelever portion. In this modification, a first shaft 310 is provided on atip portion 31 of the lever portion 3, as shown in FIG. 7A. The tipportion 31 also includes a detent insertion portion 311 on a sidesurface 310 b. The detent insertion portion 311 includes a detentopening 312 into which the detent portion 5 is inserted. In addition, arecessed portion 314 for arranging the magnet 6 and holding portions 315to hold the magnet 6 arranged in the recessed portion 314 are providedon an upper surface 310 a of the tip portion 31. Alternatively, thefirst shaft 310 may be provided in a direction intersecting the firstshaft 310 shown in FIG. 7A.

(Configuration of the Detent Portion 5)

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the detent portion 5 is composed of adetent tip end portion 50, an elastic portion 51 and a detent base endportion 52.

In particular, the detent portion 5 is provided on the lever portion 3and has the detent tip end portion 50 which generates a detent by movingwith a tilt in a direction of the first rotation operation from adirection of extension from the insertion portion 301 of the leverportion 3 and coming into contact with a detent surface 150 of a detentwall 15 arranged on the housing 10, and the elastic portion 51 applyingan elastic force to the detent tip end portion 50.

The detent portion 5 is inserted into the through-hole 412 a, and thedetent base end portion 52 on the opposite side to the detent tip endportion 50 is in contact with the contact surface 303 of the lever mainbody 30 inserted into the insertion opening 411 of the first bracket 41.

The detent tip end portion 50 has a columnar shape and has a smallerradius on the detent wall 15 side than on the elastic portion 51 side.In addition, a portion of the detent tip end portion 50 in contact withthe detent wall 15 has a spherical shape. The detent tip end portion 50has a recessed portion 500 into which the elastic portion 51 isinserted. The detent tip end portion 50 is formed using a resin materialbut may be formed of a metal material.

The elastic portion 51 is a coil spring formed of a metal material, asan example. The elastic portion 51 is provided between the detent tipend portion 50 and the detent base end portion 52. The elastic portion51, when arranged in the through-hole 412 a, is compressed from thenatural length and thus applies an elastic force to the detent tip endportion 50 and the detent base end portion 52. Therefore, the detent tipend portion 50 is pressed against the detent surface 150 of the detentwall 15 by the elastic force of the elastic portion 51. The detent baseend portion 52 is pressed against the lever main body 30 by the elasticforce of the elastic portion 51.

The detent base end portion 52 has a columnar shape. The detent base endportion 52 has a recessed portion 520 into which the elastic portion 51is inserted. The detent base end portion 52 is formed using a resinmaterial but may be formed of a metal material.

Before inserting the lever main body 30, the detent portion 5 isinserted into the through-hole 412 a so that the detent base end portion52 is exposed in the insertion opening 411, as shown in FIG. 5A. At thistime, the detent tip end portion 50 is located away from the detentsurface 150 as shown in FIG. 5A so that the bracket portion 4 can beeasily placed in the first room 11.

When the lever main body 30 is inserted into the insertion opening 411,the contact surface 303 of the lever main body 30 comes into contactwith an end face 521 of the detent base end portion 52 as shown in FIG.5B and the detent portion 5 moves toward the detent surface 150. Whenthe lever main body 30 is pushed in to the position where the protrudingportion 313 is fitted to the fitting portion 413 of the first bracket41, the detent portion 5 is pushed by the lever main body 30, theelastic portion 51 is compressed and presses the detent tip end portion50 against the detent surface 150, and assembly of the lever main body30 is completed.

As a modification, the lever main body 30 may include a protrudingportion which comes into contact with the detent base end portion 52,instead of having the contact surface 303. This protruding portion has ashape which protrudes toward the through-hole 412 a when the lever mainbody 30 is assembled to the bracket portion 4.

The detent wall 15 is arranged in the first room 11. The detent wall 15has the detent surface 150 in contact with the detent tip end portion 50of the detent portion 5. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the detent surface150 has a base recess 150 a in which the detent tip end portion 50 islocated before operation, and a first peak portion 150 b, a first valleyportion 150 c, a second peak portion 150 d and a second valley portion150 e which generate a detent when the lever main body 30 is operated inthe upward and downward directions.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the base recess 150 a is a V-shaped groove.The base recess 150 a is a groove with both ends slanted toward thebracket portion 4 so that the elastic portion 51 is compressed duringoperation in the arrow C direction and the arrow D direction. The baserecess 150 a may have a recessed portion at an end of the groove toretain the position of the lever main body 30 operated in the arrow Ddirection.

The first peak portion 150 b has a raised V-shape. The first valleyportion 150 c is a V-shaped groove. The first valley portion 150 c mayhave a recessed portion at an end of the groove to retain the positionof the lever main body 30 operated in the arrow D direction.

When the lever main body 30 is operated in the arrow A direction, thedetent tip end portion 50 moves from the base recess 150 a, passes overthe first peak portion 150 b, and fits into the first valley portion 150c. The detent tip end portion 50 generates a detent by passing over thefirst peak portion 150 b and fitting into the first valley portion 150c.

The second peak portion 150 d has a raised V-shape. The second valleyportion 150 e is a V-shaped groove. The second valley portion 150 e mayhave a recessed portion at an end of the groove to retain the positionof the lever main body 30 operated in the arrow D direction.

When the lever main body 30 is operated in the arrow B direction, thedetent tip end portion 50 moves from the base recess 150 a, passes overthe second peak portion 150 d, and fits into the second valley portion150 e. The detent tip end portion 50 generates a detent by passing overthe second peak portion 150 d and fitting into the second valley portion150 e.

Modification of the Detent Portion 5

FIG. 7B shows an example of modification of the detent portion 5. Asshown in FIG. 7B, the detent portion 5 may be composed of the detent tipend portion 50 and the elastic portion 51. In this modification, theelastic portion 51 of the detent portion 5 comes into contact with thecontact surface 303 of the lever main body 30.

In addition, the elastic portion 51 is a coil spring but it is notlimited thereto. The elastic portion 51 may be an elastic member such assynthetic rubber or silicon rubber. In addition, the detent tip endportion 50, the elastic portion 51 and the detent base end portion 52 ofthe detent portion 5 may be integrally formed by co-molding.

(Configuration of the Magnet 6)

The magnet 6 is, e.g., a permanent magnet such as ferrite magnet orneodymium magnet. The magnet 6 has a rectangular shape. As an example,the magnet 6 is magnetized to have an N pole on the magnetic sensor 7side and an S pole on the opposite side, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.The magnetization direction of the magnet 6 is not limited as long asthe magnetic sensor 7 can detect a magnetic field 60 which changes byrotation operations performed on the lever main body 30.

The magnet 6 is arranged to face the magnetic sensor 7 but does not comeinto contact with the detent portion 5 since the detent portion 5 ispositioned out of alignment with the magnetic sensor 7. Thus, the magnet6 can be arranged to face the magnetic sensor 7 and also can be arrangedinside the first bracket 41 instead of on a surface of the first bracket41, which allows its volume to be increased to generate a strongmagnetic field 60, hence, detection accuracy of the magnetic sensor 7can be improved. In addition, since a large magnet can be used as themagnet 6, it is possible to use an inexpensive magnet such as ferritemagnet.

(Configuration of the Magnetic Sensor 7)

The magnetic sensor 7 is a sensor to detect changes in the magneticfield 60 with movement of the magnet 6 caused by the first rotationoperation and the second rotation operation performed on the leverportion 3. The magnetic sensor 7 is formed using a magnetoresistivesensor or a Hall sensor. The magnetic sensor 7 in the present embodimentis a Hall 1C (=Integrated Circuit) from which analog signals generatedby detection of the movement of the magnet 6 are output as digitalsignals, as an example. The magnetic sensor 7 may be a sensor only.

The magnetic sensor 7 detects up, down, left and right movement of themagnet 6, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. The magnetic sensors 7 of thelever operation unit 2 a and the lever operation unit 2 b are connectedto the control unit 8 and outputs a detection signal S₁ and a detectionsignal S₂, which are digital signals, based on the detection of themovement of the magnet 6, as shown in FIG. 1B.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the magnetic sensor 7 is arranged in the secondroom 12 which is separated from the first room 11 by the wall (110).Separating the first room 11 from the second room 12 means that they donot share any space.

The housing 10 has the protruding portion 121 that protrudes from abottom wall 110 of the first room 11. The protruding portion 121 has aninternal space 121 a in which the magnetic sensor 7 is arranged. Theinternal space 121 a constitutes part of the second room 12. Themagnetic sensor 7 faces the magnet 6 via the side portion 121 b of theprotruding portion 121.

In the lever operation device 1, the detent portion 5 and the magnet6/the magnetic sensor 7 are arranged vertically as viewed from the user.Since the lever operation device 1 can have the magnet 6 inside thefirst bracket 41 without contact with the detent portion 5, the magnet 6which is inexpensive and capable of generating the necessary andsufficient magnetic field 60 can be used while suppressing the thicknessof the first bracket 41, as compared to when a magnet is arranged on asurface of the first bracket 41.

(Configuration of the Control Unit 8)

The control unit 8 is, e.g., a microcomputer composed of a CPU (=CentralProcessing Unit) performing calculation and processing, etc., of theacquired data according to a stored program, and a RAM (=Random AccessMemory) and a ROM (=Read Only Memory) as semiconductor memories, etc.The ROM stores, e.g., a program for operation of the control unit 8. TheRAM is used as, e.g., a storage area to temporarily store calculationresults, etc. The control unit 8 also has, inside thereof, a means togenerate a clock signal and operates based on the clock signal.

The control unit 8 is arranged on the substrate 16 and has a thresholdvalue 80 used to determine an operation direction. The control unit 8determines the operation based on the detection signals S₁, S₂ outputfrom the magnetic sensors 7 of the lever operation units 2 a, 2 b andthe threshold value 80, generates operation information S₃ and outputsit to a vehicle control system 96. The vehicle control system 96performs overall control of the vehicle 9 and controls the directionalindicators and the shifting device, etc., based on the acquiredoperation information S₃.

(Thickness Reduction)

FIG. 8 is an example of a diagram for explaining thickness reduction. Inthe lever operation device 1, since the detent portion 5 is positionedout of alignment so as not to protrude from the tip end face 410 d ofthe first bracket 41 as shown in FIG. 8, the magnet 6 is disposed in therecessed portion 415 that is provided at a position close to the tip endface 410 d. Since the recessed portion 415 is recessed inward from theupper surface 410 a of the first bracket 41, the magnet 6 is arranged inthe inside. Therefore, a thickness H of the first bracket 41 is smallerthan a thickness when the magnet 6 is arranged on the upper surface 410a or a lower surface 410 e of the first bracket 41.

In the lever operation device 1, the bracket portion 4 can be reduced inthickness since the first bracket 41 with the magnet 6 arranged thereoncan be reduced in thickness.

Therefore, the housing 10 shown in FIG. 2 can be reduced in thickness inthe lever operation device 1. This thickness is a thickness from thefront surface 100 to the back surface 101 of the housing 10.

(Effects of the Embodiment)

The lever operation device 1 in the present embodiment can be reduced inthickness. In particular, in the lever operation device 1, the detentportion 5 is not disposed in the direction of extension from theinsertion opening 411 of the bracket portion 4 into which the lever mainbody 30 is inserted. Therefore, as compared to when the detent portion 5is arranged at such a position, the magnet 6 can be arranged inside thebracket portion 4 without contact with the detent portion 5. Therefore,it is not necessary to arrange the magnet 6 on a surface of the firstbracket 41 at which arranging the magnet causes an increase in thethickness, and it is thereby possible to reduce the thickness of thelever operation device 1.

In the lever operation device 1, since the detent portion 5 and themagnet 6/the magnetic sensor 7 are arranged vertically as viewed fromthe user, the magnet 6 can be arranged inside the first bracket 41.Thus, a large magnet 6 can be used in the lever operation device 1, ascompared to when a magnet is arranged on a surface of the first bracket41.

By using a large and inexpensive magnet 6, it is possible to suppressthe cost of the lever operation device 1 while maintaining detectionaccuracy of the magnetic sensor 7 without using an expensive smallmagnet to reduce the thickness.

The lever operation device 1 is thin and also allows the same mainmechanisms to be used for the turn operation unit and the shiftoperation unit which are provided as the lever operation units.

In the lever operation device 1, the magnet 6 is arranged in a freespace created by arranging the detent portion 5 to be out of alignment.Therefore, there is no trade-off such as reduction in thickness butincrease in height, and it is possible to achieve efficient arrangementwhile maintaining detection accuracy of the magnetic sensor 7.

When the detent portion is assembled to the housing while pushing itinto the through-hole, the assembling direction is not straight andbecomes a twisting trajectory to avoid contact with the detent wall, andautomated assembly by machine is thus difficult to achieve. However,when assembling the lever operation device 1, the detent portion 5 doesnot need to be compressed when attached to the bracket portion 4.Therefore, the assembling direction is straight, e.g., it is possible toassemble only by placing a component on a work piece, which reduces thesize of the work piece and facilitates automated assembly by machine.

Although some embodiment and modifications of the invention have beendescribed, these embodiment and modifications are merely an example andthe invention according to claims is not to be limited thereto. Thesenew embodiment and modifications thereof may be implemented in variousother forms, and various omissions, substitutions and changes, etc., canbe made without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition,not all combinations of the features described in these embodiment andmodifications are necessary to solve the problem of the invention.Further, these embodiment and modifications thereof are included withinthe scope and gist of the invention and also within the inventiondescribed in the claims and the range of equivalency.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 LEVER OPERATION DEVICE-   2 a, 2 b LEVER OPERATION UNIT-   3 LEVER PORTION-   4 BRACKET PORTION-   5 DETENT PORTION-   6 MAGNET-   7 MAGNETIC SENSOR-   8 CONTROL UNIT-   9 VEHICLE-   10 HOUSING-   11 FIRST ROOM-   12 SECOND ROOM-   13 THIRD ROOM-   15 DETENT WALL-   30 LEVER MAIN BODY-   41 FIRST BRACKET-   42 SECOND BRACKET-   50 DETENT TIP END PORTION-   51 ELASTIC PORTION-   52 DETENT BASE END PORTION-   93 STEERING SHAFT-   150 DETENT SURFACE-   410 FIRST SHAFT-   411 INSERTION OPENING-   412 a THROUGH-HOLE-   420 SECOND SHAFT

1. A lever operation device, comprising: a housing; a lever portionwhich is attached to the housing and on which a first rotation operationabout a first shaft is performed, a magnet attached to a tip portion ofthe lever portion on a tip side relative to the first shaft; a magneticsensor that is arranged in the housing so as to be located on extensionfrom the tip portion and detects movement of the magnet due to the firstrotation operation performed on the lever portion; and a detent portionprovided on the lever portion and comprises a detent tip end portion andan elastic portion, the detent tip end portion generating a detent bymoving with a tilt in a direction of the first rotation operation from adirection of extension from the tip portion of the lever portion andcoming into contact with a detent surface of a detent wall arranged onthe housing, and the elastic portion applying an elastic force to thedetent tip end portion.
 2. The lever operation device according to claim1, wherein the lever portion comprises a lever main body and a bracketportion as the tip portion that comprises a first bracket, in which thelever main body is attached and on which the first shaft is provided,and a second bracket which comprises a second shaft as an axis of asecond rotation operation performed in a direction intersecting thefirst rotation operation and in which the first bracket is attached,wherein the first bracket comprises the magnet and the detent portion,and wherein the magnetic sensor detects movement of the magnet due tothe first rotation operation and the second rotation operation performedon the lever portion.
 3. The lever operation device according to claim2, wherein the first bracket comprises an insertion opening forinsertion of the lever main body and a through-hole in communicationwith the insertion opening, wherein the detent portion is inserted intothe through-hole so that a detent base end portion on the opposite sideto the detent tip end portion is in contact with the lever main bodyinserted into the insertion opening of the first bracket, and whereinthe elastic portion applies the elastic force, which is generated bybeing sandwiched and compressed by the detent surface and the lever mainbody, to the detent surface and the lever main body.
 4. The leveroperation device according to claim 2, further comprising adetermination unit that determines an operation performed on the leverportion based on movement of the magnet detected by the magnetic sensor,wherein the first bracket and the second bracket are arranged in a firstroom of the housing, wherein the magnetic sensor is arranged in a secondroom of the housing that is separated from the first room by a wall, andwherein the determination unit is arranged in a third sparce of thehousing that is different from the second room and is separated from thefirst room by an other wall.
 5. The lever operation device according toclaim 1, further comprising lever operation units that are mounted on avehicle, each comprise the lever portion, the magnet, the magneticsensor and the detent portion, and are provided on the left and rightsides of a steering shaft of the vehicle.
 6. The lever operation deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein a tip end of the first bracket comprises arecessed portion in which the magnet is housed, and wherein the detentportion is not disposed in the recessed portion.
 7. The lever operationdevice according to claim 2, wherein the first bracket comprises aninsertion opening for insertion of the lever main body, and wherein thedetent portion is not disposed in a direction of extension from theinsertion opening.
 8. The lever operation device according to claim 5,wherein the detent portion is, viewing from a driver of the vehicle,disposed vertically with respect to the magnet and the magnetic sensor.